OPay, a major African fintech supported by SoftBank, canceled its planned $304 million initial public offering (IPO) in the US market on Friday. The cancellation was due to a regulatory investigation in a foreign jurisdiction that the company did not disclose.
OPay, which focuses on Nigeria, described the investigation as concerning a jurisdiction that is 'irrelevant' to its core business. The company's official statement did not specify the name of the regulatory body or details of the investigation.
The company stated that it expects a satisfactory resolution to this matter in the near future and emphasized that the review 'should not be misinterpreted as a reflection of the company's business performance, financial condition, operational integrity, or regulatory standing.'
OPay clarified that this investigation will not affect its operations, regulatory status, or customer service in Nigeria and other markets.
Earlier in the day, OPay announced that it set the price for 16 million American depositary shares—certificates traded in the US representing shares of a foreign company—at $19 each, which represented the lower end of the target range of $19–$21. This price valued the company at approximately $4 billion.
According to TechCentral, one of the underwriters, Standard Bank, also agreed to purchase up to $200 million worth of OPay shares in a private placement parallel to the listing. Before the offering, structures of Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group held 6.6% of OPay's shares.
In recent weeks, many companies worldwide have postponed their stock market debuts due to persistent inflation and declining investor interest in artificial intelligence-related stocks.
Founded in 2018, OPay provides digital financial services in emerging markets, including Nigeria and Indonesia. Its application offers payments, money transfers, savings, and loans in economies where limited access to traditional banking makes daily transactions difficult.
OPay's founder is Chinese billionaire Yuwei Zhou, who also founded the Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech, which previously owned the dating app Grindr. The fintech company raised $400 million in 2021 at a valuation of $2 billion. According to the IPO prospectus, it had about 50 million monthly active users as of July 31.
Other underwriters included Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and China International Capital Corp. The company planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker OPAY.
